We had a blast last night at the Chippewa River District Library Lego Contest here in Mount Pleasant. There were over 100 entries, including one that my family created that we called "Scooby Doo and the Castle Maze Mystery".

It is a 3 dimensional maze that starts at the Mystery Machine, and travels through every castle, reaching the tall castle on the back.

It was a lot of fun putting it together over the past few weeks. My son and wife built a lot of the castles as well as the lego version of the Mystery Machine. I worked on the engineering and getting the path to travel throughout.

Oh, and yes that is the Blue Ribbon for winning the People's Choice award. Cool!

Also there is an article about it in the CM-Life newspaper today where we were mentioned.

It was a fun and exciting event. Our "hat's off" to the great people at the CRDL for putting together such a fun and popular event.

Snapshots Spotlight: Blizzard buries New England

Piled up snow along the street and sidewalk in the Boston, Massachusetts area
after yet another snow storm hits New England. February 15, 2015.
Source: Peter Enyeart, Flickr. CC-BY-2.0.

Snapshots Spotlight:
Blizzard Buries New England

Another week goes by and New England gets dumped on by another big snow storm. According to the Weather Channel website, as of February 18, Boston has had 98.7 inches of snow so far this Winter. That’s over double the average annual snowfall of 43.5. February 2015 is already the snowiest month ever in Boston at 61.5 inches of snow, and it still isn’t over yet. That’s compared to 2^nd place January 2005 with 43.3 inches.

So why has this year been so snowy in New England? Hmmmmm. My “theory” is that Mother Nature is punishing New England for the Patriot's football #DeflateGate, with its own version of a “low pressure system”.  

;>P

Along those lines, I like the editorial cartoon that appeared a few weeks ago in the Boston Globe by Dan Wasserman:

Source: Dan Wasserman, Boston Globe

But after all, weather happens. It’s been happening for thousands or even millions of years, and depending upon the physical geography of where you are, sooner or later you are going to experience some type of severe bad weather. Whether that weather (pun intended) is a brutal blizzard in New England, upper Midwest or Rocky Mountains, a hurricane along the Gulf or Atlantic coast, a tornado in the Great Plains, flooding along the Mississippi River, a heatwave in the South, or a draught in the West leading to devastating forest fires: weather happens. Yes, WEATHER HAPPENS! And so far all we can do about it is try to predict it, be prepared for it, respond to it and basically just deal with it.

So here is an opportunity for you to think about what types of severe weather can affect where you and your family live. Blizzards? Polar Vortex? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Floods? Etc.? What can you do to be better prepared for when severe storms hits?

When my wife and I were creating the educational board game Snapshots Across America, we wanted to have a “gotcha” factor to create interactive competition with players. Since players are “traveling” across a game board map of the United States to visit tourist attractions from all 50 States, we thought what if your “vacation” got ruined by “bad weather”.

So we introduced “bad weather” cards like this one that would cancel another players vacation to any of the States shown on the card.

Snapshots Across America features other different “Weather Alerts” for different regions around the United States that can be played to “spoil” another player’s vacation to one of the States affected by that bad weather. According to some of our reviews, players like being able to “spoil” a sibling’s, parent’s or friend’s “vacation” by hitting them with bad weather. 

The Curriculum Choice

Fat Brain Toys

Christian Books

But one of the real benefits of this aspect in our game is it also gives families an opportunity to start talking about what happens if you experience bad weather. How do you protect yourself in the storm? Do you have an emergency plan? Do you have backup power, heat or water? Do you have an emergency kit with flashlights, food, water and other necessities that might be needed?

A good source of information for what you may need in an the event of an emergency or severe weather is:
 http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit. 

For more information about Snapshots Across America, and the new updated edition to be release this coming Summer 2015, follow our blog or like us on Facebook

Copyright 2015, Sandell Games.

Snapshots Spotlight: Honoring America's Great Presidents

Mount Rushmore located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, features sculptures of four of the greatest Presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Source: Used under License-Corel Photo CD.

Snapshots Spotlight: 

Honoring America's Great Presidents

     On Monday, February 16^, 2015, we celebrate a holiday that has become known as “Presidents’ Day”. But is it more than just a day off of work or when businesses offer deals on appliances, carpet or furniture?

     The history behind Presidents’ Day goes back to the early 1800’s. After George Washington died in 1799, his birthday, which was February 22, was “unofficially” celebrated by many patriotic Americans in honor and remembrance of the first US President and the “Father of our Country”. However, it wasn’t until 1885, that Washington’s Birthday was officially established as a National Holiday celebrated annually on February 22.¹

     The Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which went into effect in 1971, officially moved several Federal Holidays to Mondays, creating more “three day weekends” for families. One of the goals and arguments supporting the promotion of the change, was that three day weekends would stimulate the travel industry and increase business commerce. Hence the now common “Presidents’ Day sales”, really do have an actual historical origin in the law as it was supposed to be helping  to stimulate business and economical growth.²

     The new law changed the official date to celebrate Washington’s Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Depending upon how the calendar falls, it can occur between Feb 15 and 21. That date was chosen under a proposed provision in that Act that would combine the celebration with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, which was February 12.^1&2 

     Interestingly, the final draft of the bill dropped language and the reference regarding President Lincoln or other Presidents, and only recognized the Federal Holiday as “Washington’s Birthday”. However, since that time, many States, as well as popular tradition, have recognized and adopted the holiday as “Presidents’ Day”, honoring primarily both Washington and Lincoln, as well as other Presidents throughout history.²

    As we are honoring and remembering the Great Presidents that have help build and strengthen America, Mount Rushmore is the one place that memorializes 4 of the great Presidents, including both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who we are primarily recognizing on Presidents' Day.

Work at Mount Rushmore in progress under the direction of Sculptor Gutzon Borglum.
Source: National Park Service Mt. Rushmore Historical Photos

“The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt."  Gutzon Borglum5

    
Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, was born in the Idaho territory in 1867. His family moved to Nebraska while he was still young where his father established a medical practice. He studied art and sculpture in Paris at the Julian Academy, where he met and was influenced by famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Borglum had built a reputation for several patriotic works of art, ranging from a bronze memorial statue at Gettysburg of confederate soldiers from North Carolina, to a six ton marble head of President Lincoln that was exhibited in the White House during Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency.

    Work on Mount Rushmore started in 1927. After 13 and a half years of work, Gutzon died in March 1941 before Mount Rushmore was finished. His son Lincoln, supervised some finishing touches on the faces through the Fall of that year. Shortly thereafter, the United States entered World War II and with the country’s resources being devoted to the war effort, further work stopped.

     Over the decades, Mount Rushmore has become a familiar symbol of America, recognizing 4 of the greatest Presidents of the United States. Each year over 3 million people come to witness one of the greatest historic memorials and artistic ingenuities in 

American History.⁴

.

The Men on the Mountain

"Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze, Oil on Canvas,
on Display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

     

     George Washington is recognized as the “Father of our Country” for his many roles in establishing the United States as an independent and free country. He was the General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, leading his troops to victory over the British which established the Independence of the United States.

     He also presided over the Constitutional Convention which drafted the United States Constitution in 1787. He was then unanimously elected as the First President of the United States, and served two terms from 1789-1797.

Potrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale
Source: White House Historical Association

     Thomas Jefferson is known for being the primary author of the Declaration of Independence as well as the Third President of the United States serving 2 terms from 1801-1809. He had served as Secretary of State for Washington’s first term and as his Vice President for the second term. During his Presidency he negotiated with the French for the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States territory and sent Lewis & Clark to explore the new added territory.

Portrait of Abraham Lincoln by George H Story
Source: The White House Historical Association

     Abraham Lincoln was the 16^th President, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He is best known for his leadership during the Civil War and for the Emancipation Proclamation which ended slavery in the U.S. He is also famous for the Gettysburg Address, which was given four months after a key Union victory, where he reaffirmed the Nation’s commitment to equal rights, liberty, democracy, aboloshing slavery and preserving the Union. 

President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationalist John Muir
during a tour of Yosemite National Park in 1903.
Photo from The National Parks: Shaping the System, National Park Service.

     Theodore Roosevelt was the 26^th President and a key political supporter of National Parks and Monuments, and was a key figure in preserving the natural wonder and beauty of America. Mt. Rushmore sculptor, Gutzon Borglum was a friend of “Teddy”, and believed that Roosevelt had a clear vision of the role of the United States in leading the world community as well as epitomized the true Spirit of America.⁴

Snapshots Across America features Mount Rushmore as one of the Attraction game cards:

For more information about Snapshots Across America, and the new updated edition to be release this coming Summer 2015, follow our blog or like us on Facebook

Copyright 2015, Sandell Games.

Snapshots Spotlights: US National Parks

Visitors observing the magnificent grandeur of the Grand Canyon National Park from
Mather Point on the South Rim. National Park Service Photo by Michael Quinn

Snapshots Spotlight 

US National Parks: An American Treasure

In the 2009 PBS documentary series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns eloquently describe our National Parks: “They are a treasure house of nature’s superlatives---84 million acres of some of the most stunning landscapes anyone has ever seen…. But they are more than a collection of rocks and trees and inspirational scenes from nature…. [They are] where countless American families have forged an intimate connection with their land—and then passed it on to their children”.¹

The first concept for setting aside large preservations of land of natural and cultural beauty is attributed to American painter and writer, George Catlin. During the 1830’s, Catlin travelled extensively through much of North America on an endeavor to capture the images on canvas of North American Indians and the wilderness they lived in. In 1842 Catlin published writings chronicling his adventures and suggested that the government should preserve what he called “a Nations Park” that would preserve and showcase the “pristine beauty and wildness… where the world could see for ages to come”.^2,3

Yosemite National Park. The view of El Capitan on the left, Bridal Viel Falls to the right and Half Dome in the distant center.
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

     As other travelers, painters and writers explored and witnessed the spectacular scenery of the expanding United States, the interest in preserving the majestic natural beauty of those areas grew. The first such area was Yosemite Valley, which in 1864, California Senator John Conness sponsored legislation which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. That set aside Yosemite Valley as a protected land and under the control of the State of California, would become America’s first designated State Park. Later the Yosemite Valley would become part of the larger Yosemite National Park.²

Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular attractions in Yellowstone National Park,dwarfs visitors watching from nearby. National Park Service photo by Jim Peaco

The very first official National Park established in the United States, as well as the World, was Yellowstone National Park. During 1869-71, several expeditions ventured into the remote area of the territories of Wyoming and Montana. David E Folsom, Henry D. Washburn and Ferdinand V. Hayden had each explored the Yellowstone area and publicized their amazing geologic documentation of the many geysers, as well as other geothermic and geologic features present in the area. However since the proposed park was in a US territory rather than a state like Yosemite in California, it was established as a National Park under the protection and administration of US Federal Government. The bill passed Congress in 1872 and was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.²

In 1875, Mackinac Island, located on Lake Huron in the state of Michigan, was designated as the second US National Park. However in 1895, it was transferred to the State of Michigan and become a State Park. In 1890, three National Parks were established in California: Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant (which later became part of Kings Canyon National Park in 1940).²

Between 1899 and 1919, many other National Parks were established:

• Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, 1899
• Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, 1902
• Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, 1903
• Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 1906
• Glacier National Park, Montana, 1910
• Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 1915
• Hawaii National Park, 1916, (Later split into Hawaii Volcanoes and Haleakala in 1960)
• Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, 1916
• Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska, 1917 (Later became Denali National Park in 1980)
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1919
• Zion National Park, Utah, 1919.

President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationalist John Muir during a tour of
Yosemite National Park in 1903.
Photo from The National Parks: Shaping the System, National Park Service.

One of the greatest advocates for the establishment of Protected National Parks was conservationist and a founder of the Sierra Club, John Muir. Muir first travelled to the Yosemite Valley in 1869 to take a job working in a sawmill. However, his life was forever transformed by the natural beauty and grandeur he witnessed there. He has been described as the “patriarch for both the idea of wilderness preservation and the development of National Parks”.⁴

John Muir became instrumental in aiding the preservation of land for seven National Parks. In 1903 he gave President Theodore Roosevelt a tour of Yosemite National Park to see many of the magnificent views of the scenery there. President Roosevelt, after experiencing Yosemite and several other National Parks that year, would become one of the greatest political advocates and a primary supporter of  the National Parks, signing legislation that established five additional National Parks, and designated 18 National Monuments during his presidency.¹

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful, not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”  John Muir4

      The National Park System has grown significantly since it was first established. Currently there are 59 US National Parks that are a beautiful treasure of diverse gems scattered across 27 states and two US Territories. California has the most of any state with nine, Alaska is next with eight, Utah has five and Colorado with four.⁵

So why go visit a National Park? Sometimes just witnessing the immense beauty of nature can offer a great peace, strength and clear perspectives in life. Great people with an appreciation for some of the most awe inspiring places have gone before us to preserve these remarkable works of nature for us to see, value and appreciate. Experiencing and witnessing those magnificent National Parks, will give us the courage, the strength and the determination to continue to support, preserve and pass on those majesties of nature to the many future generations to come. So help support and preserve an American Treasure! Visit a National Park!

Snapshots Across America features these game cards:

 

     

Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon National Parks have also been featured on the new U.S. Mint America the Beautiful Quarters that were released in 2010.

Follow us for more Snapshots Spotlights about the many great tourist attractions featured in the educational boardgame, Snapshots Across America. New edition to be released Summer 2015.

Sources:

¹Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. PBS Documentary Series aired 2009. Companion Guide. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. Print. 2009.

²Barry Mackintosh. The National Parks: Shaping the System. National Park Service-U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C. Print. 1991. Web.

³George Catlin. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Conditions of the North American Indians. Wiley and Putnam. New York. Print. 1842. Web.

⁴John Muir. Our National Parks. Houghton Mifflin and company. Boston-New York. Print. 1901. Web-Library of Congress.

⁵The official Website of the National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/index.htm.
US Department of the Interior. Washington D.C. Web.

Copyright 2015, Sandell Games.

The 3 Snapshots Across America editions that have been published: 1997 Sandell Games, 1999 Tedco, & 2001-2012 Talicor. Look for a new compact box and larger deck of cards coming this Fall 2015.